I got up last Sunday morning and watched one of those television news programs like ìMeet the Press.î Or maybe it was C-Spanís coverage of a Democratic gathering to applaud committee passage of their 1,990-page health reform package. I donít know. For what it was worth, I might well have been watching Howdy Doody.

Anyway, the only reason I watch such shows is that I know millions of Americans watch them, too. To the point, Iím interested in what is being served up as ìnews,îÄas well as who is doing the serving. The whole experience confirms my view that, for the most part, what Americans are getting isnít news at all. It is lots of information, a few facts, and almost no truth. Information, you see, is not necessarily fact. And fact is not necessarily truth. From all sides, it seems, the only job we are getting from our elected officials ó and media ó is a snow job.

I have no idea why we permit this perpetual snow-balling to go on. Maybe we want to be snowed. Or, perhaps our taste for news is similar to our taste for sugar. We know the stuff is bad for us, but we have grown so accustomed to its sweet taste, we require it in just about all foods. Where would we be without sugar? This taste, however, for reasons I will discuss later, may be coming to an end.

An area of particular interest to me is the word war in the health care reform debate. For example, Republicans consistently refer to the Democrat plan as a government takeover of health care in this country. I suppose this is due to the fact that the Democrats have promoted a ìpublic optionîÄùto ensure coverage for the 46 million Americans who are uninsured or under-insured, have pre-existing medical conditions that disqualify them from getting a standard policy, and for those who lose their insurance due to job loss or other circumstance.

Democrats, withering under the Republican word attack, have changed the name from ìpublic optionîÄù to ìconsumer option.îÄù In other words, it is the same thing with a different name. Itís a little like the word twisting that went on concerning the reform planís initial proposals for end-of-life counseling for those facing death. That got twisted into something sinister: ìdeath panels.îÄùThese word wars continue and, really, I think its warriors need to cut it out.

Another kind of word war is going on at the same time. It is the personal attack. Again, more and more, we hear from one side or the other personal attacks on political leaders such as President Obama, Dick Cheney, former President Bush, Nancy Pelosi, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden, and many others. Such ad hominem attacks are a disgrace to this nation. They distort the real issues, fuel public distrust of our political leaders and, on the international stage, make us look petty and foolish.

The thing is this. I do not believe our politicians or our media are any worse than that of any other country. In fact, overall, we are probably better than most. How we stack up against other nations is not relevant here. What is important is how we stack up against our own ideals ó democracy, balance of power, a free media, and all those things we talk about so much, but so poorly practice.

In this regard, I believe not only the world is watching, but the American people are watching. To the point, the war of words and truth twisting we see is subject to the analysis of a voting public comprising two main groups ó Baby Boomers and their children, Generation X-ers, and some segments of the children of the X-ers. Each of these generations, to a large extent, is smarter, fairer, and more independent thinking than any of the many generations that preceded them.

Accordingly, they are neither easily fooled, nor can their intelligence long suffer demeaning word wars calculated to miss the point and, in so doing, leave the people blind and ignorant. In short, we have no time to play word games. Due to a variety of mega-forces, America is changing. Either we will get ahead of the curve and lead, or be crushed underneath the gigantic wheels of change bearing down upon us. To paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., ìwe must be wise enough to work together to solve our problems, or we shall perish as fools.î

Have a nice day!

Primus Mootry is an Anderson resident and a high school teacher.